Governor signs horse-slaughter ban

SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed legislation Thursday banning the slaughter of horses for human consumption — a move that may shut down the last horse slaughterhouse in the United States.

Jeremy Pelzer

By JEREMY PELZER

STATE CAPITOL BUREAU

SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed legislation Thursday banning the slaughter of horses for human consumption — a move that may shut down the last horse slaughterhouse in the United States.

Blagojevich said he was “proud” to sign House Bill 1711, which outlaws the import or export of horsemeat intended for human consumption. Violators could face up to 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine.

Though it’s illegal to sell horsemeat as food in the United States, DeKalb-based Caval International makes shipments overseas to Europe and Asia, where the meat is in high demand.

Caval is the last active horse slaughterhouse in the country after two other slaughterhouses in Texas closed their doors earlier this year.

A man who answered a phone call to Caval International late Thursday afternoon said the company had no comment.

The ban easily passed the legislature after a lobbying effort by animal-rights activists, including actress Bo Derek.

“As both a horsewoman and a compassionate person, I applaud the resolve of the people of Illinois to end the cruel, bloody trade in horsemeat,” Derek said in a statement.

As there’s little demand for horsemeat except as dinner overseas, Caval now has few alternative markets for the meat, said Chris Heyde, deputy legislative director for the Society for Animal Protective Legislation, a group that lobbied for the state ban.

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., has introduced legislation in Congress to create a federal ban on the buying, selling or shipping of horsemeat meant for human consumption.

Jeremy Pelzer can be reached at (217) 782-3095 or jeremy.pelzer@sj-r.com.